CDC: American Ebola patient ‘appears to be improving’

CDC: American Ebola patient ‘appears to be improving’

Photo Courtesy: CBS

ATLANTA, Geo. (CNN) – An American doctor infected with Ebola in Liberia “seems to be improving,” according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s encouraging that he seems to be improving,” Thomas Frieden said of Dr. Kent Brantly on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “That is really important, and we are hoping he will continue to improve.”

The Christian charity that employs Brantly confirmed Sunday that the 33-year-old doctor received a dose of an experimental serum before leaving Liberia.

“We praise God for the news that Kent’s condition is improving,” said a Sunday statement from Samaritan’s Purse.

Brantly, the first known patient with the deadly virus to be treated on U.S. soil, landed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia on Saturday and was quickly rushed to Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital.

American Ebola patient ‘improving,’ CDC chief says – CNN.com

He’s one of two Americans sickened by the deadly viral hemorrhagic fever last month while on the front lines of a major outbreak in West Africa.

Video from Emory showed someone in a white, full-body protective suit helping a similarly clad person emerge from the ambulance and walk into the hospital.

American Ebola patient ‘improving,’ CDC chief says – CNN.com

Sierra Leone deploys military; screens passengers

In Sierra Leone, where government officials have asked citizens to stay away from work, the military has deployed at least 750 infantry and military medical officials to 13 locations, military spokesman Col. Michael Samoura said Sunday.

Meanwhile, health officials are screening incoming and outgoing passengers at the country’s main international airport with a device that takes people’s temperature from their eyes at a distance, CNN’s David McKenzie reports.

McKenzie, who arrived Sunday at Freetown’s Lungi International Airport, said anyone showing signs of fever are taken away to have their blood tested for Ebola, he said.